Bassics

Jesper Bodilsen is an extremely capable soloist, but on this CD he spends as much time augmenting and embellishing the playing of pianist Stefano Bollani and drummer Morten Lund as he does displaying his own formidable skills. Sometimes Bodilsen, Bollani...

While the instrumentation is that of the prototypical bass-piano-drums trio, there's nothing remotely routine about the Ron Brendle Trio's music. The musicians blur idioms and converge styles. Every track represents a first-take version, and the compositions...

The debut CD by Canadian bassist Pat Collins has plenty of admirable qualities. These include his refusal to play it safe with the decision to highlight his compositions rather than familiar covers. In addition, the disc is sonically excellent, with several...

Bill Evans' writing and piano solos marvelously combined passion and lyricism. The Riccardo Fioravanti trio has crafted an ideal tribute to Evans, one that honors every aspect of his compositions yet smartly reconfigures them by eliminating the piano from...

Exemplary playing and spirited compositions distinguish Drew Gress' third disc of original music. This combo includes three players equally at ease in lead or accompanying roles in alto saxophonist Tim Berne, trumpeter Ralph Alessi and pianist Craig Taborn...

Seldom does a CD title so accurately convey the purpose and direction of a session than Roland Guerin's latest release. First, there aren't many contemporary bassists better at establishing and maintaining a groove than Guerin, a master of the slap technique...

Way back in the dark ages of the late '60s and early '70s, jazz-rock offered listeners the promise of an exciting hybrid that would combine the improvisational prowess and harmonic imagination of jazz with the energy and rhythmic might of rock. That dream...

The 1959 Cannonball Add-erley Quintet recording that paired him with John Col-trane was a landmark session, one that is revisited in tone and spirit with this repertory/tribute date from Luther Hughes and the Cannonball-Coltrane Project. Thankfully, they...

Buster Williams is highly regarded and respected for many things, most notably the beauty of his tone and sound, along with the consistent quality of his writing and recordings, and Griot Liberte (HighNote) is no exception. The CD features a quartet that...